Food & Drink
Chuka Ryori
中華料理ちゅうかりょうりchūka ryōriChinese cooking, reshaped for the Japanese table
Chūka ryōri is Chinese cooking as it has been adapted in Japan: dishes such as gyōza, fried rice, mapo tofu and ramen, adjusted to Japanese taste and ingredients. It is so familiar that many of its dishes, like curry and tonkatsu, are part of everyday Japanese home cooking.
Chinese influence on Japanese food is ancient: tea, tofu, noodles and soy-based seasonings all came from China, and Zen monks brought vegetarian temple cooking. Chūka ryōri in the modern sense, however, began with the Chinese communities that settled in Nagasaki during the Edo period and in the treaty ports of Yokohama and Kobe after 1859. Their restaurants introduced Cantonese and Fujianese cooking, which Japanese cooks gradually adapted.
After the Second World War, returnees from Manchuria and northern China brought home a taste for dumplings, while Chinese cooks from Sichuan and elsewhere adapted spicy dishes for Japanese palates. The result is a cuisine with its own dishes, some unknown in China, served everywhere from elegant banquet restaurants to small neighbourhood diners (machi chūka) with a counter and a well-worn menu.
Everyday dishes
The core of chūka ryōri in Japan is a set of dishes found on almost every menu and cooked at home. Many are eaten with rice as part of a set meal (teishoku) with soup and pickles, in a way that reflects Japanese meal patterns rather than Chinese ones.
Gyoza
餃子gyōzaPan-fried dumplings, usually with pork, cabbage, garlic chives and garlic, dipped in soy sauce, vinegar and chilli oil. In China, boiled dumplings are more common.
Chahan
炒飯chāhanFried rice with egg, spring onion and pork or ham.
- 麻婆豆腐mābō-dōfu
Tofu in a spicy sauce with minced meat, milder than its Sichuan original.
Ebi chiri
エビチリebi chiriPrawns in a sweet chilli and ketchup sauce, a Japanese adaptation of a Sichuan dish.
Subuta
酢豚subutaSweet and sour pork with vegetables.
Harumaki
春巻きharumakiSpring rolls.
Dishes made in Japan
Some dishes widely regarded as Chinese were created or reshaped in Japan. Ramen, originally called shina soba or chūka soba, is the most famous and now has its own culture. Others are served in chūka restaurants but are virtually unknown in China.
- ラーメンrāmen
Wheat noodle soup of Chinese origin that became a Japanese staple.
- 天津飯tenshinhan
Crab omelette on rice with a thick sauce, named after Tianjin but created in Japan.
Hiyashi chuka
冷やし中華hiyashi chūkaCold ramen noodles with strips of ham, egg and cucumber in a sweet-sour dressing; a summer dish.
- 中華丼chūkadon
Stir-fried vegetables and meat or seafood in a thickened sauce on rice.
Chinatowns and regional dishes
Japan has three historic Chinatowns. Yokohama Chinatown, the largest, grew from the settlement next to the foreign quarter opened in 1859. Kobe's Nankinmachi and Nagasaki's Shinchi Chinatown are smaller; Nagasaki's goes back to the Edo period, when Chinese traders were confined to a designated quarter. Nagasaki also developed shippoku ryōri, a banquet cuisine mixing Japanese, Chinese and European influences.
Several cities have made Japanese-Chinese dishes their local specialities.
- ちゃんぽんchanpon
Noodles in a milky pork and chicken broth with seafood, pork and vegetables, created by a Chinese restaurateur in Nagasaki around the turn of the twentieth century.
- 皿うどんsara udon
Crisp fried noodles topped with a thick seafood and vegetable sauce, also from Nagasaki.
- 宇都宮餃子Utsunomiya gyōza
Utsunomiya promotes itself as a gyōza city, with many specialist shops.
- 浜松餃子Hamamatsu gyōza
Gyōza arranged in a circle in the pan and served with boiled bean sprouts in the centre.
- 豚まんbutaman
Steamed pork buns; called nikuman in eastern Japan and butaman in Kansai, and sold at Kobe's Nankinmachi.
Temple food from China
A separate strand of Chinese influence came through Buddhism. Monks of the Ōbaku school of Zen, who founded Manpuku-ji in Uji in 1661, brought fucha ryōri, a vegetarian banquet cuisine served at a shared table, in which dishes are passed round in large bowls. It influenced both Japanese temple cooking and the later Nagasaki shippoku cuisine.
- 普茶料理fucha ryōri
Chinese-style vegetarian temple banquet associated with Manpuku-ji in Uji.
- 卓袱料理shippoku ryōri
Nagasaki banquet cuisine served on a round table, mixing Japanese, Chinese and Western dishes.
Frequently asked questions
Is Japanese Chinese food different from Chinese food in China?
Yes. Chūka ryōri is adapted to Japanese taste: generally milder, often sweeter, and eaten with rice in set meals. Some dishes, such as tenshinhan and hiyashi chūka, were created in Japan.
Why are Japanese gyoza pan-fried?
In northern China, boiled dumplings are the everyday form, while pan-fried ones are often made from leftovers. In post-war Japan, pan-fried gyōza eaten with rice or beer became the standard.
Which is the largest Chinatown in Japan?
Yokohama Chinatown is the largest, followed by Kobe's Nankinmachi and Nagasaki's Shinchi Chinatown.
What is machi chuka?
Machi chūka ('town Chinese') are small, often family-run neighbourhood restaurants serving ramen, gyōza, fried rice and set meals.
Related
Sources
- 1.うちの郷土料理 (opens in a new tab) — 農林水産省 (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries)
- 2.Japan National Tourism Organization – Official travel guide (opens in a new tab) — JNTO